Food is a great way to ensure that your elderly family member has plenty of nutrients and the energy she needs to get through her day. What becomes complicated is that healthy foods often take more time and energy to prepare. Finding solutions to help you manage that can be really helpful.
Cooking from Scratch Lets You Control Ingredients
When you cook for your senior from scratch, you know exactly what’s in each dish. You’re able to start with fresh vegetables and fruits and include proteins and healthy fats that she likes. Lots of people are surprised to find that homemade dishes can often be more flavorful than processed foods and sometimes they don’t take nearly as long to prepare as you might think.
Cook More than One Meal and Store the Rest
If time constraints keep you from cooking from scratch as often as you would like, you might want to set aside time one afternoon or evening to cook two or three dishes for your senior. You can store the rest for later eating. This can be really helpful if you store individual servings in the freezer and label them with reheating instructions. This builds up to a pretty decent stash of home-cooked meals and your senior can reheat them at will.
Ask if Friends and Family Can Pitch In
But what if you don’t enjoy cooking or you worry that you’re not making dishes the way your senior enjoys them? Another option might be to ask friends and family members if they would be willing to cook occasionally for your senior. This is especially helpful if some of those folks are excellent cooks and your senior enjoys their food already.
Bring in Some Extra Help
Some of these ideas just aren’t possible. But that doesn’t mean that your elderly family member has to give up on the idea of having nutritious, home-cooked meals ready for her on a regular basis. Home care providers can do the cooking for your senior, which might help her to have company while she’s eating, too. If you live far away from your senior or otherwise just can’t keep up with cooking for her, this is an excellent solution to consider.
Talk to your elderly family member about what changes she’d like to make to her way of eating. She may have some preferences you can include that are healthier than you expect.
IF YOU OR AN AGING LOVED ONE IS CONSIDERING HOME CARE IN WAKE FOREST, NC, PLEASE CONTACT THE CARING STAFF AT SENIORS HELPING SENIORS TODAY. CALL (919) 761-5346.